1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inking unit for use in a printing machine and in particular, to an inking unit suitable for a keyless rotary offset press, which enables better transfer of ink from an ink fountain to the peripheral surface of a roller.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a keyless inking unit has increasingly been used in order to simplify printing operation and allow an operator to operate a printing machine with less experimentation. There have been proposed various ink units for use in a rotary offset press wherein damping water invades to an ink supply system (see, for example, Japanese utility model publication No. 16522/88, Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 18244/88, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 57236/88, Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 1940/89 and Japanese laid-open patent publication 113244/89).
Of the prior art, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 57236/88 and Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 113244/89 disclose systems for supplying a mixture of ink and water. Ink is supplied from a tray or a ink fountain to a roller. The bottom of the ink fountain is arcuate so as to correspond to the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the roller.
Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 1940/89 discloses an ink feed mechanism all mounted on a movable carriage.
If relatively large water droplets in ink are not finely divided, the ink may not evenly or properly transferred to the peripheral surface of a roller. This results in a decrease in the quality of end product.
It is therefore desirable to finely divide such water droplets so that the water droplets may evenly be distributed in the ink.
Also, it is desired that an ink feed mechanism may rapidly be assembled or disassembled for inspection, maintenance replacement of ink or repair when the mechanism is suddenly out of order.